Dishathi
The Dishathi are a reptilian species native of the planet Nirir in the Chrr’Kaa system. Their direct ancestors were raptor-like ancients taken from an unknown planet in the distant past. The Dishathi are known through all galaxy thanks to their scientific genius, inquisitive mind, and for their version of the Interstellar Drive, proven to beat all other known versions of the device in both speed and efficiency. Biology The Dishathi are a reptilian alien species with a homeothermic metabolism and avian features. Like the Ternons and Enkiri, they can easily adapt to almost any climate, though they feel more comfortable in tropical or subtropical climates. They are oviparous, with two sexes and each egg takes between 6 and 7 months to hatch – the infant being completely dependent on their parents. The brain of the Dishathi is highly evolved, a result of their excelled evolution by a mysterious benefactor species – most probably the Archai Interstellar Collective – many millennia ago. This brain is responsible for their inquisitive mind, technical genius and scientific prowess. Government The government of the Dishathi (The Interstellar Union) is democratic almost to the point of chaos – their society is organized into familiar groups, a dozen or more of these familiar groups making up local tribes or councils and so on up to the Supreme Commune – the seat of their planetary government. Nearly every decision – be it the founding of a new extra-planetary colony or a simple reform in one of the wings of a hospital – is reached by consensus between all these groups, a process that would be paralyzing for most other species, but that seems to work well for the Dishathi. Culture As stated above, the Dishathi are a democratic people and love to live in groups: all Dishathi dwellings are huge, with enough space for dozens – and in some cases, hundreds – of residents. Everything in these dwellings is collective: bedrooms, kitchens and dining areas are huge enough to accommodate and feed a battalion, and even workspaces are huge, with teams of workers cooperating with each other. The only exception to this rule are the bathrooms: bathrooms are regarded as a sacred, private space and the violation of such is usually punished with the temporary expulsion of the offender from the dwelling. The Dishathi are a hard-working people, but like many sophonts in the galaxy, they love good entertainment. Their favorite pastimes being table-top games like Icehouse (a game of mysterious origins played through most of the Known Worlds), Homeworlds (a chess-like game played with the same pieces of Icehouse and also of unknown origin) and Paradisus. The Dishathi also love nature and love to walk through the several parks in their cities that imitate the old forests and jungles of distant, unexplored, wild worlds. Technology The Dishathi have an inquisitive mind, always trying to analyze the world around them. They are top users of the Great Network, using its capacity to create ultra-realistic simulations of the real world around them to analyze even the littlest iota of information – and it was during one of such simulations that a team of Dishathi scientist led by the famous Dr. Ch’kirth discovered strange dark matter anomalies – the Jump Points. The results of their work provided the final piece of the puzzle that led to their creation of the Interstellar Drive, nicknamed the Jump Drive, or the Dishathi Drive by foreigners. Military The Dishathi appear to be fragile and harmless and their soldiers weak even when using armor, but they can easily compensate such disadvantages with their advanced technology. Prior to the foundation of the Interstellar Union, the Dishathi had a powerful army entirely composed of drones controlled at distance by Direct Neural Interface technology. However, after the foundation of the Union, their role in the Sovereign Guard (The Unions armed forces) changed – their inquisitive minds allowing them to act as great Intelligence analysts, their little size and natural agility making them excellent spies and saboteurs, and their technical and scientific prowess presents them as exceptional shipbuilders, maintenance personnel and engineers. The Sovereign Guard's land forces are mostly composed of DS-17 drone soldiers provided by the Saegon Army. The few Dishathi who do carry a weapon usually carry the L-3P (Low-Power Phaser Pistol) also sold by the Saegon Army. Although excellent shipbuilders, the Sovereign Guard mostly lacks a navy, relying on the presence of the Saegon Navy to defend regional space. Dishathi-Saegon Alliance The Dishathi work closely with several species but have few binding contracts to retain neutrality and security. One of these few agreements is the Dishathi-Saegon Alliance. When the Saegon Empire discovered the Dishathi from reports of an advanced highly intelligent species in the area, scout ships from the navy closely studied and monitored the planet of Laraturn. Using cloaking technologies, the scouts attempted to get closer, only getting discovered as if the cloak was non-existent. After a week of explaining the spies presence and working out their release, the Saegon began considering whether or not to attack the Dishathi. Before any final decision was made, the Saegon received a transmission from the mysterious race. Expecting reparations for spying, the Saegon were surprised the message was regarding their cloaking technology and explaining how it was detected. In the message were schematics on how to improve upon their design; the details fascinated even the Empires top scientists. Deciding the Dishathi were more valuable as an ally, High General Steven Battle sent 1,000 DS-17 drone soldiers back to Laraturn as a show of good faith. The droids, both the Empires most advanced war robots and best war machine the Union had ever seen, were immediately studied and appraised for their capability in combat test. Starting as a deal to share military equipment for technological improvements, the two races eventually announced an alliance. The Dishathi-Saegon Alliance, commonly called the Imperial Union in both media and general dialogue, the partnership results in the following: # The Saegon defend Interstellar Union territory and make no efforts to occupy surrounding space. # The Saegon Armed Forces sell automated-military equipment to the Sovereign Guard. (Although offered at a discounted price, the Dishathi declined it for the purpose of even ground.). # The Interstellar Union provide the Saegon Galactic Federal Republic with technologies regarding both civilian and martial fields. # Saegon military outposts are allowed to station on the planets of Laraturn and Novjaurk. The outposts are monitored by Sovereign Guard observers; this was offered by the Saegon to allow the Dishathi to feel safer with such a presence on their worlds. # The Saegon are obligated to defend Dishathi, both the Union as a whole and separate individuals, from any hostiles of any origin. # The Dishathi are not required to intervene in war but are committed to assisting in Saegon scientific endeavors whenever possible. Notes * The Dishathi were created by Paulo R. Mendez * All sections (excluding the Saegon piece, were written by Paulo) ** Minor edits for Spore continuity also made by Scott209 * Art by monopteryx.deviantart.com.